Depth Charts

Nicklas Backstrom scored a goal in Wednesday's 4-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final.

After Alex Ovechkin and Andre Burakovsky (twice) found the back of the net, it was Backstrom that finished off the game with an empty-netter in the final minutes of regulation. With the Caps facing elimination in Games 6 and 7, the Swedish center managed to put up three points. He finished the night with a plus-1 rating, one shot on goal and one hit in 17:27 of ice time. The 30-year-old is up to four goals and 16 points in 15 games during the postseason. The Capitals will now face the Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final. Game 1 will be played in Las Vegas on Monday night.

Evgeny Kuznetsov stretched his point streak to nine straight games on Monday night.

Kuznetsov earned an assist on T.J. Oshie's power-play goal late in the second period of Game 6 against Tampa Bay. The marker held up as the game winner and it forced a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference Final. Kuznetsov has compiled six goals and eight assists during his scoring spree.

Lars Eller picked up an assist in Saturday's 3-2 Game 5 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Maybe more importantly, Eller did not take any penalties after taking a combined five over the previous two games. His assist came on Alex Ovechkin's late goal, giving him 13 points through 17 post-season games so far. The series will now shift back to Washington on Monday with the Capitals running the risk of being eliminated from the post-season. Evgeny Kuznetsov also scored in the loss.

Beagle can become an unrestricted free agent in July and could be permitted to walk by the team, especially if the Capitals intend to re-sign John Carlson. "I'm not looking ahead at all," he said. "It's just a matter of the job and the task that needs to be done here, and I don't want to play anywhere else. I can't imagine playing with another team. This is my family, and that's the way I treat it." Beagle has helped players like Chandler Stephenson and Travis Boyd, who could take his place. He has spent his entire NHL career with Washington.

Chandler Stephenson will drop to the fourth line in Game 6 against Tampa Bay on Monday night.

Stephenson took part in Monday's morning skate alongside Jay Beagle and Devante Smith-Pelly. He has seen plenty of time on Washington's top-two lines during the postseason, but he has generated just one assist in his past eight matches.

Alex Ovechkin found the back of the net in Wednesday's 4-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final.

Ovechkin opened the scoring with one of his signature one-timers just 1:02 into the game and the Caps never looked back. He finished the game with a plus-1 rating, four shots on goal and five hits in 17:38 of ice time. The 32-year-old accumulated seven points in seven games during the Eastern Conference Final and he'll now be heading to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in his career. Ovechkin now has 12 goals and 22 points in 19 games this postseason. Andre Burakovsky (twice) and Nicklas Backstrom (empty-netter) also scored for the Capitals, who will take on Vegas for all the marbles. Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final will be played in Las Vegas on Monday night.

Brett Connolly scored his fourth goal of the postseason in Tuesday's 4-2 loss to Tampa Bay.

Connolly got Washington the board at the 10:31 mark of the second period after the Lightning established a 3-0 lead. He has picked up a point in three straight games against Tampa Bay during the Eastern Conference Final. Connolly also has three goals and one assist in his past five contests.

Vrana is slated to start Game 6 against Tampa Bay alongside Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie. He has had some success as a top-six forward during the playoffs. This could provide him with a big boost, as he only has one assist in his last six outings.

Nathan Walker will be a healthy scratch in Game 7 against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night.

Walker picked up an assist in the only playoff game he suited up in this spring. He hasn't played in a single game in this series. Madison Bowey, Jakub Jerabek, Shane Gerisch and Pheonix Copley will also watch the game from the press box.

T.J. Oshie scored a pair of goals in Monday's 3-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final.

He came into this game with no goals in his previous six games. Oshie opened the scoring on the power play when he ripped a one-timer from the slot past Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. The Capitals forward then added an empty-netter with less than one minute to go in regulation. The 31-year-old finished the night with a plus-1 rating, five shots on goal and two hits in 20:44 of ice time. Oshie is now up to seven goals and 15 points in 18 games this postseason. Devante Smith-Pelly also found the back of the net for the Capitals on Monday night. This best-of-seven series is now tied up at three. Game 7 will be played in Tampa Bay on Wednesday night.

Andre Burakovsky scored a pair of goals in Wednesday's 4-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final.

Alex Ovechkin opened the scoring just 1:02 into the first period, but it was Burakovsky's two second-period goals that put the game to bed, as he gave his team 2-0 and 3-0 leads in the middle frame. He finished the night with a plus-2 rating and two shots on goal in 11:19 of ice time. This was an impressive performance from a player that was a healthy scratch in Game 5 of the series. The two goals were his first points of the 2018 playoffs. The Capitals will now head to Vegas to take on the Golden Knights in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night. It's the first time the Caps will be in the final since 1998.

Tom Wilson notched one goal and one assist to help the Washington Capitals to a 6-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Wilson has given poolies a lot of offense in the playoffs with nine points in 11 games. He missed three contests when he was suspended for breaking the jaw and concussing Pittsburgh's Zach Aston-Reese, but he has not changed his game since returning on Friday. Wilson was credited with six hits in Game 2 against Tampa Bay.

Alex Chiasson will be a healthy scratch in Game 6 against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday.

Andre Burakovsky will take his place in the lineup. Chiasson has now been scratched in two of the team's last three games. The 27-year-old has one goal and one assist in 16 postseason contests. Madison Bowey, Jakub Jerabek, Shane Gersich, Travis Boyd, Nathan Walker and Pheonix Copley will also watch the game from the press box.

Peluso has no points in three AHL games this season. The 28-year-old has appeared in 142 career NHL games, but none since the 2015-16 campaign. He has 14 points and 209 penalty minutes in his 142-contest NHL career.

Devante Smith-Pelly scored a goal in Monday's 3-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final.

Not only did Smith-Pelly scored a big goal for his team, he also made an impact on the game with his physical style of play. The 25-year-old gave his team a 2-0 lead at the 10:02 mark of the third frame. He finished the night with a plus-1 rating, one shot on goal and five hits in 12:01 of ice time. Smith-Pelly has four goals and one assist in 18 games this postseason. T.J. Oshie scored a pair of goals for the Capitals in the victory. This best-of-seven series is now tied up at three. Game 7 will be played on Wednesday night. The winner of that game will face Vegas in the Stanley Cup Final.

Travis Boyd will make his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut on Monday night in Game 6 against Pittsburgh.

Boyd will center the third line and play with Brett Connolly and Devante Smith-Pelly. He is getting the chance to play because of Nicklas Backstrom is out with an upper-body injury. Boyd had one assist in eight appearances with the Capitals during the regular season.

John Carlson hasn't scored a goal yet during the Eastern Conference Final, but he has had plenty of chances.

Carlson has collected 23 shots in Washington's series against Tampa Bay, including a total of eight in Game 5. "I think we're making a lot of good plays, we're getting a lot of good chances," he said. "Just that one extra guy here and there is a big difference for a goalie. I think we got to bring that extra guy in to possibly be a rebound option, pass option, just make him think a little bit, make him guess a little bit." Carlson has contributed four assists versus the Lightning and he has compiled 15 points in 17 playoff matches.

Matt Niskanen was not pleased with himself after the Capitals 3-2 loss on Saturday.

Niskanen was on the ice for all three Tampa Bay goals and blamed himself for the loss. "First three goals are all my fault," Niskanen said. "I had a tough first 20:30 so I've got to be better next game." The usually reliable defenseman is part of the top pairing with Dmitry Orlov and knows they will have to be better for Game 6 Monday. "A lot of people counted us out when we were down 0-2 in the first round. Things got hard in the last series where we could have melted and we just kept playing. So that's what we've got to do again, bring our best effort for Game 6 at home, win a game and then we'll go from there. But we're focused on bringing our best game of the season for Game 6 and we'll be ready to go."

Dmitry Orlov scored a goal in Thursday's 4-2 Game 4 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Orlov took a feed from T.J. Oshie and absolutely let go of a one-timer that beat Andrei Vasilevskiy over the shoulder to open the scoring 4:28 into the game. Orlov is now up to two goals and eight points through 16 post-season games and he has been a big part of Washington's success in the post-season, averaging 24:55 of ice-time so far during these playoffs. The series will head back to Tampa for Game 5 on Saturday with both teams holding two wins.

Jakub Jerabek will be a healthy scratch in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Jerabek played in the first two games of the playoffs, but he's been a healthy scratch in every game since then. The 27-year-old has one assist in two games this postseason. Madison Bowey, Shane Gersich, Travis Boyd, Nathan Walker and Pheonix Copley will also watch the game from the press box.

Braden Holtby turned aside all 29 shots he faced in Wednesday's 4-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final.

The Capitals will now move on to play the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final. Holtby gave up four, three and three goals in Games 3, 4 and 5 of this series, but he managed to keep the Lightning off the board in Games 6 and 7, which is pretty remarkable. The 28-year-old can now put his up-and-down season behind him, as he'll be heading to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in his career. Holtby will head into the next round with a 12-6 record, a 2.04 goals-against-average and a .924 save percentage in the postseason. Game 1 of the final will be played in Vegas on Monday night.

Philipp Grubauer allowed four goals on 22 shots in two periods of work on Sunday.

Grubauer was replaced by Braden Holtby to start the third period. The 26-year-old has an .837 save percentage and 4.57 goals against average through two games in the post-season. He received a no-decision, since Washington was able to tie the game in the third period before falling in overtime to Columbus.

Although it can be concerning when a team calls up a goaltender, this isn't necessarily a red flag. We're in the playoffs now and we've seen other teams add a third goalie to their roster just as an insurance policy, so that's likely what Washington is doing here. Copley had a 2.91 GAA and .896 save percentage in 41 AHL games this season.